WWE: 10 Normal Moves That Used To Be Deadly Finishers

8. The Piledriver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOGxe-xt88s A move that is now banned in WWE programming due to the potential for concussions and severe neck damage, at one time the piledriver was a bonafide finishing move that nobody could possibly kick out of. It was a great looking move too as the wrestler was lifted up off the mat and spiked down on his head. Jerry Lawler is the big name that is most affiliated with the piledriver as a finishing move. In the days of Memphis Wrestling, "The King" had the fans salivating for the big moment when he would set up for the piledriver. There wasn't anything too fancy about the move, and he didn't come up with any variations on it, because there was never a need to do so. The move spoke for itself, and everyone from the jobbers to the main eventers to even the celebrity performance artists felt the dreaded piledriver. While the move is no longer shown on WWE, there are other wrestling organizations where the piledriver can still be seen every now and again, but it hardly ever ends a match.

7. The Bear Hug

Perhaps one of the simplest submission holds that just about anyone with two arms and half a brain can perform, the bear hug at one time used to signal the end for a wrestler, especially if the wrestler applying the hold was big and burly. All the wrestler had to do was wrap his arms around the opponent and squeeze the air out of their body. The lungs would constrict, and without receiving much air, the wrestler would either tap or pass out. It was far from a flashy move, but that didn't stop one of the flashiest wrestlers of the seventies, "Superstar" Billy Graham, from using the bear hug to defeat his opponents and eventually become WWE Champion. Now the bear hug is more of a rest hold than anything else, and eventually the opponent manages to escape from the hold by either powering out or clapping the wrestler in the ears. Guys like Mark Henry and Big Show will sometimes bring out the bear hug and make it look downright devastating, but it's been quite awhile since a referee had to end the match because of the hold.